Victory's HopDevil Ale and Golden Monkey, a Belgian-style ale, shared first-place honors from a panel of judges that included Peter Kennedy of simplybeer.com.

Kennedy, of Montclair, called HopDevil a "great IPA," while another judge, Joe Collins of Bayonne, described Golden Monkey as "dangerously delicious."

The judges had a delicious, and daunting, time, as they sampled and evaluated 34 beers from a variety of breweries, from Michelob, the Boston Beer Co. (makers of Sam Adams) and Blue Moon to Sea Dog, Shipyard, Otter Creek, Erie Brewing and Hometown Beverages, brewers of New Jersey Lager.

Erie won an honorable mention award for its Fallenbock, an Octoberfest lager, with Otter Creek earning the other honorable mention for its Copper Ale.

"It's a deep-colored Octoberfest, almost Bock-style," Erie CEO Don Chadwick said of Fallenbock. "It's what you'd enjoy with a good meal, not something you'd drink a six-pack of in front of a Giants game."

Judges named Sam Adams' Sample A Pils beer as the festival's "biggest surprise." The brewer's Sample A and Sample B beers were available at the festival; attendees voted for their favorite as part of a nationwide write-in campaign to pick the next Samuel Adams Brewmaster's
Collection beer.